Technological Field
The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer belt, an image forming apparatus including the intermediate transfer belt, and a method for producing the intermediate transfer belt.
Description of Related Art
In an image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on a photoconductor is transferred to an intermediate transfer member, and thereafter transferred to a recording medium such as normal paper. The residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer member after transfer of the toner image is then removed by a cleaning member in abutment with the surface of the intermediate transfer member.
The intermediate transfer member is, for example, an endless intermediate transfer belt including a substrate layer, and a surface layer disposed on the substrate layer. The surface layer can be formed to thereby realize an intermediate transfer belt excellent in both of durability and high image quality (for example, Japanese Patent No. 5632396 (PLT1)).
The surface layer of an intermediate transfer belt described in PTL 1 includes an ultraviolet curable resin. Examples of the ultraviolet curable resin include an acrylic resin.
When the ultraviolet curable resin of the surface layer in the intermediate transfer belt is an acrylic resin, the toner remaining on the surface of the surface layer is removed by an elastic blade (cleaning blade), to result in a large frictional force between the surface layer and the cleaning blade, thereby causing the tip of the cleaning blade to be deformed (turn-up of the blade) and/or causing the cleaning blade to be remarkably worn. An image forming apparatus including such an intermediate transfer belt may cause any cleaning failures to occur at a cleaning stage after transfer of a toner image, thereby enabling no high quality image to be formed.
PTL 1 does not provide any description about cleaning failures due to the friction between the surface layer and the cleaning blade (cleaning member) of the intermediate transfer belt.